Gig work, beyond the livelihoods argument

With gig work an entrenched form of urban employment, guardrails for the estimated 2.5 crore workers expected to take up such work by 2030 have become important

Recently, I booked a cab at night via an app, from Dwarka to Connaught Place. Finding the vehicle quite clean and well-maintained, I complimented the driver, Darshan Singh.

Platforms need to consider the actual work-hours spent, net earnings, and threats faced — instead of classifying gig-workers as partners/captains/contractors, etc, to escape regulatory obligations. (Shutterstock)

Singh smiled and told me that he had leased the car, and while the lessor had many such cars, he had accumulated a ₹53,000 debt. I was surprised, since the platform (per ride) commission model had given way to a weekly subscription model, and fat commissions to the platform no longer needed to be paid.

“Business is not uniform,” Singh explained. Recent traffic disruptions, such as route diversions due to the BRICS summit and the Kanwariya processions, had affected demand as people tended to avoid road travel, he said. “Besides, the subscription model has attracted many more cabs than what used to ply earlier and demand has fragmented. So, there are two sides to the coin,” he added.

“I guess fuel prices increasing after the war would be another challenge,” I asked. “Even for passengers, fares have increased by roughly 10-15% and so has surge pricing.”

Singh agreed. “If fuel price increases, it is our problem. The company takes the subscription and washes its hands off.” He also blamed private cars registering with the apps and operating illegally as taxis, which pushes up competition. “The other day, a private car guy got into an accident. We, taxi drivers, usually help a brother in trouble. But we didn’t support this guy,” he said, voicing the common angst of the app-cabbie fraternity.

His words reminded me of 25-year-old Suraj Singh, who was murdered in Gurugram by criminals posing as commuters. A large number of gig workers struck work in Gurugram in protest, and demanded mandatory KYC of customers. They also flagged verbal abuse and harassment by passengers, and dysfunctional in-app emergency buttons.

Of the four new Labour Codes operationalised in 2026, only the Code on Social Security applies to gig workers. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code leaves them, applying only to workers of a designated establishment and “employed” in the conventional sense. Since ride-hailing apps classify drivers as “independent partners” rather than “employees” they can bypass the OSH Code, the Code on Wages, and the Industrial Relations Code.

Not even the most incorrigible bleeding heart wants apps banned and millions rendered jobless. However, with gig work an entrenched form of urban employment, guardrails for the estimated 2.5 crore workers expected to take up such work by 2030 have become important. Platforms need to consider the actual work-hours spent, net earnings, and threats faced — instead of classifying gig-workers as partners/captains/contractors, etc, to escape regulatory obligations.

Vandana Vasudevan is the author of the book OTP Please! The views expressed are personal